Avalanche-Oilers Preview

Associated Press

Paul Stastny might have cooled down, but the Colorado Avalanche have not. The Edmonton Oilers haven't been hot in a very long time.

Seeking a fourth straight win, Colorado looks to continue its push toward a playoff spot Wednesday while trying to saddle Edmonton with the longest losing streak in franchise history.

Stastny saw his NHL rookie record point streak end at 20 games Sunday, but Milan Hejduk scored 19 seconds into overtime to give Colorado a 4-3 win over San Jose. The Avalanche (37-29-6) improved to 8-0-1 in their last nine games.

The Oilers (30-36-7), meanwhile, have lost 11 in a row to match the club record set during the 1993-94 season. Their last win came on Feb. 23, 4-3 in a shootout at Detroit.

"There are nine games left and we have to keep a positive outlook," Oilers center Shawn Horcoff said.

The victory drought is made all the more astonishing by the fact it comes less than a year after Edmonton reached the Stanley Cup finals. While the postseason is well out of reach for the Oilers this year, the Avalanche have thrust themselves back into the playoff chase.

Colorado, which faced a double-digit deficit for the Western Conference's final playoff spot less than a month ago, has climbed within striking distance of eighth-place Calgary. The Avalanche play the Flames twice in the final week of the season.

The franchise has not missed the playoffs since 1993-94 when it was known as the Quebec Nordiques.

"We are now in a good spot where we have control over our own destiny," said Colorado's Joe Sakic, who had four assists Sunday and has nine points in his last three games. "We got Calgary twice, and that's four points. We just have to keep building off of this and take it into Edmonton."

A big reason Colorado is in this position is Stastny's streak, second-longest in franchise history to Mats Sundin's run of 30 games in 1992-93. Stastny scored 11 goals and had 18 assists during the stretch. He has eight points in six games against Edmonton this season.

Hejduk scored his 30th goal on Sunday to tie Sakic for the team lead. Andrew Brunette added his career-high 25th goal as Colorado continued its offensive surge that's produced 10 goals in its last two games.

"It's a huge two points for us," said Hejduk, who has scored in six of his last seven games. "It was a big game for us, a big win, and we need to keep it going."

Colorado looks to stay hot with back-to-back matchups against the Oilers. The teams close out the season series Friday in Edmonton.

The Avalanche are 3-3 this season against the Oilers and have won both matchups in Edmonton, scoring seven goals in each. The Oilers won 3-2 at Colorado on Feb. 3 in the most recent meeting, but are 4-13-3 overall since then.

Edmonton (30-36-7) lost 2-1 to Vancouver on Monday for its 11th straight defeat. The Oilers are three losses shy of their franchise-record 14-game winless streak from 1993-94.

Raffi Torres scored his first goal in 11 games Monday, but the Oilers were missing 10 players due to injuries and lost by one goal for the third straight game.

"We played the best game tonight that we have played in a long time," said Horcoff, who has a goal and five assists against Colorado this season. "But to come away with the same result again leaves you dejected."

Edmonton has been outscored 39-10 during its current skid and is 0-9-1 since trading leading scorer Ryan Smith to the New York Islanders.

The Oilers are halfway through a six-game homestand, which precedes their season-ending six-game road trip.